Translator: AnubisTL
Standing at the edge of the "Ship" Plane, Black gazed at the massive spatial rift that spanned the void before him, twisting and shifting as it radiated ominous fluctuations.
He took a deep breath, forcing down the slight unease and regret in his heart until his expression regained the calm and rationality befitting a wizard.
To be fair, his preparations this time weren't actually bad.
While custom spell artifacts could better suit a wizard's unique soul characteristics and offer higher cost-effectiveness, top-tier standardized spell artifacts often provided more reliable pure defensive strength.
To ensure nothing went wrong, the two standardized spell artifacts he had purchased this time were both sixth-tier masterpieces.
In terms of mental defense alone, they were likely a cut above even some custom pieces crafted by alchemy masters.
"It's just that the cost was too high. I could only afford to buy three in total... I hope it's enough," Black sighed helplessly.
The intelligence sent back from the opposite plane had been reported by a sixth-tier wizard. From that, it seemed sixth-tier mental defense should be sufficient to handle most situations on this plane.
The problem was that he had prepared too few of them.
This meant he had to be even more cautious, avoiding prolonged battles or facing multiple mental assaults simultaneously.
But for a soul mage lacking means of direct assault, excessive caution often meant missing out on many precious spoils of war.
Black did a rough mental calculation. If his luck was poor, the gains from this planar war might not even cover the massive expense of purchasing these three spell artifacts.
"I hope the duration of the protection from this artifact Jieming gave me is a bit longer..." His gaze fell on the simply designed bracer on his left wrist.
Inside the transparent crystal, that mass of iridescent golden liquid flowed slowly, emitting a reassuringly stable aura.
With the contract binding them, he wasn't worried that Jieming had deceived him about its basic functions.
But as everyone knew, even among sixth-tier artifacts, the gap between their upper and lower limits in strength could be enormous.
The other two he had bought at a high price were undoubtedly high-tier sixth-tier artifacts.
But Jieming, a second-tier wizard, had crafted this one. Even if he had used some special material and technique to reach the sixth-tier threshold, it was likely only at the entry level.
Black had secretly tested the "Mind Barrier Bracer" himself. Its protective effect was indeed good, effectively blocking several of the low-to-medium intensity soul illusions he cast.
But each time he tested it, seeing the golden liquid within the crystal deplete at a visible rate made his heart ache—that was all genuine military merits!
As for Jieming's claims about short-term resistance to seventh-tier spells and early warning for eighth-tier spells, Black had largely dismissed them due to a lack of testing conditions, treating them as mere theoretical optimism.
Still, for Jieming to create a spell artifact that reaches the threshold of the sixth tier while only being second-tier himself—even if it primarily relies on the materials' properties—is a testament to his formidable skill.
After we return this time, I should ask him what other types of spell artifacts he specializes in... Black's thoughts were interrupted by the Expeditionary Force Commander's cold voice, which echoed through the mental power of every participating wizard.
Without any unnecessary rallying cries, the order was issued directly.
In an instant, the edge of the ship plane lit up with various colored lights.
The wizards activated their prepared mental defenses: some had translucent crystals floating above their heads, others were surrounded by invisible psychic barriers, and some, like Black, wore special accessories or bracers.
Then, following behind a massive wave of cannon fodder units, figures transformed into streaks of light, resolutely charging toward the spatial rift that gaped open like the maw of a giant beast.
Black wasted no time. He immediately activated the badge in his robe, its surface carved with intricate eye-like patterns—the [Gazer's Emblem], one of the two sixth-tier protective wizard artifacts he had purchased.
A cool, steadying surge of mental power instantly enveloped his consciousness, forming a resilient barrier.
At the same time, he habitually cast the Soul Branch spell "Presence Fading," making his aura utterly unremarkable among the other wizards.
Only then did he take flight, soaring into the grotesque spatial rift along with the others.
The moment he entered the rift, the expected spatial tugging washed over him. But immediately after, a wave of dizziness far more intense than usual slammed into his senses!
"Ugh!" Black groaned. It felt as if his soul had been thrown into a high-speed spinning washing machine.
Amidst the distorted light and chaotic spatial distortion, he seemed to hear a faint, almost imperceptible crack—a sound that resonated deep within his very soul.
Not good!
Soul mages were extremely sensitive to changes in their own condition. Alarm bells screamed in Black's mind!
This was no normal reaction to spatial traversal!
Gritting his teeth against the overwhelming nausea, he desperately channeled his mental power to stabilize himself.
After a few breaths, the intense dizziness receded like a tide. Black realized he had emerged from the spatial channel and found himself in... an extraordinary space.
All around him were "rock walls" of dark red flesh that stretched endlessly upward. They were warm, soft, and slimy, pulsing faintly.
Beneath his feet was a "floor" as black and cold as chitinous armor.
Looking up, the high "dome" was also composed of writhing flesh, resembling the interior lining of some massive creature's abdomen!
Black understood instantly.
He hadn't been teleported to some underground cave—he had been swallowed by a giant beast of unimaginable proportions!
The realization struck him like a bolt: the spatial disturbance wasn't an accident at all, but the giant beast's hunting method!
The creature had used its "mouth" to seal the exit of the spatial rift!
He quickly scanned his surroundings and saw other wizards who had been "swallowed" just like him.
They were drifting down from the air like dumplings in a pot, but their state was utterly bizarre—their eyes were closed, and their faces wore smiles of profound contentment, peace, and even happiness, as if lost in the most beautiful dream, completely oblivious to their dire predicament.
Immediately after, the flesh on the surrounding walls churned and writhed, sprouting countless slimy tentacles covered in suckers. They wrapped themselves around the drifting wizards with pinpoint accuracy, easily dragging them toward the fleshy walls.
The flesh writhed like a living creature, slowly enveloping and "absorbing" the wizards until only their blurred outlines remained visible on the surface.
It's an illusion!
A powerful, collective hallucination!
No, not just an illusion—it must also have an incredibly strong ability to interfere with the mind.
Black corrected his thought as he watched some of the cannon fodder units—creatures that theoretically lacked intelligence, perhaps even souls, and possessed only biological instincts—placidly allow the tentacles to drag them away.
His heart pounded wildly, and he immediately recalled the faint shattering sound from moments ago.
That must have been the sound of the sixth-tier mind barrier formed by my activated [Gazer's Emblem] being forcibly shattered the instant I entered this place!
Could it be that what I'm seeing and feeling right now is already an illusion?
The thought made his skin crawl.
But if this were an illusion designed to make him lower his guard and be devoured, why was the scene he saw so twisted and horrifying?
Would his subconscious ever construct such a "beautiful dream"?
No!
Black suddenly realized something and instinctively looked down at his left wrist.
There, the same Mind Barrier Bracer—once plain and unremarkable—was still emitting a steady, soft white glow.
And the mass of liquid adamantine sealed within the crystal, said to last for ten years, was rapidly depleting at a visible rate!
It was melting away like snow under the sun!
This terrifying rate of consumption told him bluntly: an immense and bizarre force was relentlessly battering his mental defenses!
The bracer hadn't failed. It was faithfully fulfilling its duty of "isolation," blocking the horrific illusions and mental interference that would have instantly corrupted any other wizard.
The gruesome scene he saw inside the giant beast... was likely the bloody reality of this plane!
(End of the Chapter)
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